Treating Narcolepsy With Traditional Chinese Medicine

Definition of Narcolepsy

In Mandarin, 'Narcolepsy' is known as '嗜睡' (meaning: being fond of sleeping). This medical term can be discerned from an ancient text, “Yellow Emperor's Canon of medicine- Spiritual Pivot”, an introductory medical text for all TCM practitioners since the Warring States period (~475 – 211 BC) in China (Xia, 2007). Or it can be related to the ‘多寐’ (meaning: excessive sleep syndrome) in the Internal Medicine of TCM. It is defined as: feeling of sleepiness regardless day and night, easy to be awaken yet easy to fall asleep.

Pathophysiological Pathway

Apropos, the circulation of nutrient Qi and defensive Qi was believed to have made exemplary contributions. In particular, as mentioned in Huangdi’s Internal Classic, people fall asleep when defensive Qi flows in the Yin meridian and wake when it flows in the Yang meridian. In TCM, sleep quality is an indicator of general health and the precursor of disease. TCM is a typology system that categorizes the human body into five distinct organ systems, and each of the integral parts is correlated, physiologically and internally, to one another. A tiny pathological alteration internally is reflected in external symptoms. Thus, viewing from a TCM perspective, narcolepsy is a symptom that biotically reflects the actual situation of our body systems (Wu et al, 2021).

The location of the disease is believed to be closely related to Heart, Spleen, and Kidney, mostly included as deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality, or deficiency with excess complication, in TCM theory. The origin deficiency includes the deficiency in the Heart, Spleen, Kidney’s Yang Qi, and malnutrition of the Heart orifices. The excess in superficiality includes pathogenic dampness, phlegm turbidity, and static blood obstructing the vessels, then, clouding and obstructing the heart orifices. Besides, based on the TCM literature, the weakness of the Stomach and Spleen deficiency with dampness encumbrance can also causing the symptoms of narcolepsy. The main mechanism of disease is categorized as the disquieted Heart spirit.

Treatment

Due to the personalized system of TCM, prescriptions of respective patients are customized and tailored for each patient. Increased evidence has proven the reliability and effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine for Narcolepsy. In China, Chinese Herbal Medicine is also taken as an adjuvant therapy to strengthen the efficacy of conventional treatment. For instance, Banxia Xiakucao decoction has exerted effectiveness on the sedative and hypnotic action on the human body. More importantly, Traditional Chinese Medicine has relatively mild therapeutic effects and side reactions (Guo et al, 2020). Owing to this, Chinese Herbal Medicine is believed in the limelight due to its compatibility with ameliorating chronic and complicated sleep disorders. Based on the pathophysiology of narcolepsy in TCM as above, the treatment of TCM is obeying the primary principle of tonifying the deficiency while purging the excess.